With the opening of the Winter Olympics coming up this week, Canada trails the favourites at +700 odds to win the most gold medals at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Four years ago in Sochi, Canada fell short of the record 14 gold medals it won at the 2010 games in Vancouver, but it is perched as a -120 bet to win OVER 8.5 gold medals when the XXIII Olympic Games get underway this week in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Canada’s men’s curling team, skipped by Kevin Koe, is listed as a -110 favourite to bring home Olympic gold for a fourth straight time, while the women’s squad, led by three-time world champion Rachel Homan in her first Olympic appearance, is also a strong -110 bet on the Winter Olympics odds.
Both the Canadian men’s and women’s hockey teams head to Pyeongchang looking to defend Olympic gold-medal wins at Sochi. Marie-Philip Poulin, the hero of Canada’s victories in both Vancouver and Sochi, will wear the C for Canada’s women’s squad, which is an even-money wager to win a fifth straight gold medal.
The Canadian women finished their Olympic preparation on a strong note, topping the archrival Americans five times during a six-game series late last year. However, the United States travels to South Korea as four-time defending world champions, and sits as the slight -120 favourite on the women’s Olympic hockey odds.
Over on the men’s side, Olympic Athletes of Russia sits as a +225 favourite to end Canada’s eight-year reign as Olympic champions. Former NHL superstars Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk lead a Russian squad comprised of players from the KHL, while a veteran Canadian squad that includes Chris Kelly, a member of the Boston Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup-winning squad, closely trails at +275 on those betting lines.
Norway sits atop the 2018 Olympics odds as a +150 bet to claim the most gold medals at this year’s Games, followed by Germany at +160, while the United States sits at +500. As well, Norwegians Aksel Lund Svindal and Kjetil Jansrud sit one-two on the alpine skiing downhill men’s betting lines, with +250 and +350 odds, respectively.
And skier Lindsey Vonn is perched as a +300 favourite to win gold in the women’s alpine skiing downhill event. The 33-year-old American missed the Sochi Games due to injury.
For more odds info, picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes, or check it out at OddsShark.libsyn.com.
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